


Complications

by Vermilion_Bird



Category: Fast & Furious 6 (2013), Fast and the Furious Series
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2020-07-07 07:57:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19847671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vermilion_Bird/pseuds/Vermilion_Bird
Summary: After rebuilding a relationship and finally finding happiness together in Madrid, Han and Ellie's lives were just about perfect. That all changes when an old friend makes an appearance from beyond the grave. Their lives may never be the same. HanXOC. Sequel to Choices and Consequences.





	1. Chapter 1

Life's simple; you make choices and you don't look back. You just have to be ready to deal with the consequences.

It's a simple philosophy, really. A finite truth that you can plug almost any situation into and still have it be true. The first part of it had worked for Han for years. It helped him get rid of all the 'what if's' that popped up when things didn't go quite his way.

It drove me bat shit insane. It might work for Han Lue, but it didn't fit for me. While voluntarily strode arrogantly into suicidal business plans and bad ideas, I tried to avoid trouble. Not that it ever did me any good; like Han had once told me, I attract dangerous mobsters.

So the second part of our little philosophy was added. Consequences were something that Han and I couldn't ignore after our bad decisions caused us a lot of grief. It was kind of a given that whatever choice you made was going to have an outcome, but sometimes saying it out loud was a good reminder.

But was that really all there was to life? Choose your path and be prepared for what comes up, or don't live at all?

I used to think life could fit that philosophy, but then everything changed after a phone call. I got hit with a curveball that hit me straight in the face and left me on my ass staring at the sky wondering exactly what happened. In a matter of weeks, everything bit of solidarity I possessed was ripped to shreds.

It wasn't all for nothing, I guess. What happiness we had lost, someone else had found. They rebuild their lives and their families; picked up the pieces of the life their carelessness destroyed years before.

I was haunted by the way they continued on. My life felt like it was over, why should they get to be happy? Why should they get to carry on like nothing had happened, when I felt like the sun wasn't coming up again?  
I let my hand trail down the cold marble stone, traced the name, placed my palm over the final date that came up way before it should have. The cold seeped down into my bones; deep enough to reopen the wounds that were healing and drag the hurt back out to the surface.

I was shaken to the core, but I knew two absolute truths; the first being that life wasn't simple. It was twisted and complicated. The second was that none of this would have happened if Leticia Ortiz had actually died


	2. Chapter 2

2

It was all roses, dripping in diamonds  
Sipping on champagne  
She was all uptown, wearing that white gown  
Taking his last name

Carrie Underwood

The morning sun shone through the windows and bathed the apartment in a warm, golden light. I grinned as I inhaled the familiar scents of our little home. I'd been away so long being back felt like a happy dream. It looked like nothing had changed since I left; clean, lemony scent still wafted out of the somehow still organized kitchen, the plasma screen was still set to the same news channel, a happy fire blazed in the little fireplace across from the modern black couch. The only difference was a sweat shirt tossed carelessly over a kitchen chair.

I had missed this place; after over a month away working with my business partner in Costa Rica on a new hotel we were planning to build, I was beginning to think I'd never make it back. My whole body ached to the bone from the long hours of sitting in hard, upright airport chairs waiting my plane to be ready to fly home and being cramped into an airplane seat. My trip had been made worse by the fact that I was coming home on one of the worst travel days in the year, but it was worth it to be home a little bit early than I had thought possible.

Careful not to make any noise, I pulled my bag all the way inside the door behind me and gently closed and locked it back. Sneakily, I took two cautious steps forward before the floor creaked underfoot. I stilled as a noise sounded from the living room. The noise soon dissolved into snoring, and I knew I was safe.

The grin on my face grew as I pulled off my shoes and tiptoed into our living room. I excitedly followed the sound of the snoring to the couch and my lazy boyfriend. In typical Han fashion, he was sprawled on the couch sound asleep. One hand was in an open Doritos bag that was sitting in his crotch, and the other was dangling off the edge of the couch beside his beer on the coffee table. His black hair stuck up at random angles and his long bangs covered his eyes. His head was lolled at an awkward angle with his mouth hanging wide open. It was obviously affecting his airways; he was snoring like a freaking chainsaw.

I dropped to my knees beside him and gently brushed his cheek with my fingertips before sweeping his hair away from his forehead. His face scrunched in discomfort as he tried to move away from the feeling. I giggled and kissed his forehead. His eyelashes parted after a minute and I found myself staring into his bleary dark eyes.

"Ellie?" He whispered in confusion as he raised his non-Dorito bag hand and stroked my jawbone as if he was trying to make sure I was real. After verifying that I wasn't a dream, he let his hand fall. "You're early."

"Merry late Christmas." I murmured quietly. "I'm sorry I couldn't get back in time."

He hummed in response as he pulled his hand out of the Doritos bag and wiped the orange nacho cheese powder off on his pants. The only sound between us was the crinkle of cellophane as he plucked the bag off of his lap and dropped it to the floor.

"When did you get here?" He asked sleepily as he sat up and pecked me on the cheek before he wrapped his arms around me in a clumsy hug.

"Just now." I answered as I wrapped my arms around his built torso and buried my face in his neck. "I missed you. It's the first Christmas we haven't spent together."

We had been together for five years. Our first Christmas had been spent in a hospital because Han had shattered his hip in a car accident. The next two were thankfully uneventful ones. Last Christmas was another story entirely; we had broken up earlier in the year because I caught him cheating. We got back together in mid-November right before I became the target of the Russian mafia. We spent that Christmas counting money that we had stolen from him after we knocked him out of power in the Russian underworld.

That wasn't a typical holiday, but then again, we weren't typical people.

Han kept his past in the shadows, but, from what I had gathered, he was apparently a smart thug that got involved in some things during high school. He traveled to South America where he met Dominic Toretto. They pulled several jobs together before he split and headed for Tokyo.

I was the daughter of a crack whore and a drug runner/thief. I left my native Puerto Rico when I was nine for America after my mother died. I lived with my dad until he died when I was almost seventeen, a month to the day after we buried my half-brother. I was approached at his funeral and told that he had accepted a job in Japan to get my stupid uncle out of trouble with a Yakuza loan shark. When I refused to take the job myself, I was drugged and snatched away to Tokyo.

When we met, it was far from a fairy tale. At that point, I had pretty much given up and resigned myself to a short life of running drugs before I was either murdered or sold into prostitution. He was a ladies' man that, for some reason, had a little bit of a soft spot for me. He did whatever he could to help me get out from under the thumb of the Yakuza boss, Kamata. He had arranged a way out of the country for me, but the night I was supposed to leave, Kamata found out about some of Han's side deals. Han's car was wrecked by Kamata's nephew and I was beaten half to death.

When we finally escaped and made it to Colombia, he had a shattered hip, broken femur, and a whole laundry list of other injuries. I had five broken ribs and a massively swollen face, and we had almost no money. Somehow, we managed to heal, scrape a decent profit out of a little garage, and build a life together. Everything was amazing, until we got Dom's call to go to Rio.

In the middle of pulling the Rio job, our relationship split apart at the seams. Frayed tempers flared one night before we had to meet the team. We stayed apart as much as possible. I was walking back to where we were staying alone through the dark streets when I saw him slipping into a house with Gisele, a team member that had had her eye on Han the entire time. Crushed, I ran home, grabbed my clothes, and broke into a hotel so I didn't have to stay with him.

As much as I blamed him for our break up, he wasn't the only one at fault. After we had gotten settled in Colombia, I had found an old account that my dad had hidden. I used the money to open a very profitable casino in Italy with my godfather. I never breathed a word of it to Han until I used it as ammo during the fight we got into the next day. I left him for what I thought was forever the night before the job after I got an emergency phone call from my family in Moscow.

After pulling a job on the Russian mafia, I took over my half of the business. I was absolutely miserable, so my godfather sent me off across Europe looking for a city to expand to. I settled in Madrid and began building a night club. It was in Madrid that I finally started getting over Han and settling down.

All of the progress I had made in getting over him came to a screeching halt when I saw him again with Gisele. The chemistry between us was still there, and, despite my every effort to deny it, the magnetic attraction hadn't dimmed a bit. Han and Gisele's relationship dissolved, though they remained friends and continued running jobs together. We got back together just in time for the Russians to catch up with me.

Yep, Cinderella and Prince Charming we were not. Bonnie and Clyde was much more accurate.

"How was Costa Rica?" Han asked as he pulled me into his lap.

"Hotter than the ninth circle of hell in the summer." I answered.

"Drama queen." He deadpanned as cupped a hand on my face and pulled me in for a kiss.

"At least I don't taste like Doritos." I shot back as broke apart. He smirked and I found my lips back on his. I allowed him to deepen the kiss despite the Dorito breath. After a few minutes, just sitting on his lap wasn't enough, so I slung my leg over his hip and settled down on top of him. His large hands moved up to grip my hips. It would have quickly progressed into a lot more, if my phone didn't start ringing in my back pocket.

Han groaned in annoyance as he pulled away, leaning back on the arm of the couch. I swore as I grabbed for my phone. I glanced at the caller id quickly before answering.

"Hello?" I bit my lip to contain a moan as Han started moving his hands up and down my waist under the hem of my shirt, rubbing his thumbs in slow circles against the bare skin as he went. I had definitely missed this kind of contact.

"I take it you made it home then." Miles, my business partner drawled lazily.

"I did. I just made it back." I answered as I ran my finger around the collar of Han's soft, white t-shirt. His breath caught in his chest.

"I need you back in a few months to finalize everything. Surely gangster boy can part with you for that long." I rolled my eyes at his sarcasm. He was kind of like my godfather and had hated Han from the very beginning after I refused to leave him broken in the hospital to run back to Mile's hotel in Costa Rica. He was very slowly warming up to him; I could tell because that time he didn't include a death threat to Han at the end.

"Oh, next time he's coming with me." I informed him as I hung up and dropped my phone on the coffee table. "I missed you." I told Han as soon as the phone hit the table.

"I missed you too." He replied as he leaned up, obviously eager to continue where we had left off.

"Come on." I interrupted as I gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Let's go to bed. I could use a nap after all of those flights." I grabbed his hand off of my hip and unstraddled him. With a smirk, he pulled himself off the couch and allowed me to lead him towards our bed.

I looked back at him when we were almost to the door. A mischievous smirk spread across his face. I quirked a questioning eyebrow at him and he shrugged nonchalantly in response. Deciding to ignore it, I turned back around to open the door, only to have Han let go of my hand, and sweep me up bridal style.

My shriek of shock turned into an amused laugh.

"I take it you missed me then?" I asked as I reached down and turned the handle for him.

"You have absolutely no idea." He replied as he stepped in and slammed the door behind us with his foot.

Z

"It was so aggravating; he did everything he possibly could to irritate me and make my life hell. Then the stupid hurricane popped up. You'd think with that many square feet in a five star hotel that I could find a way to avoid him, but no; that never worked. " I continued as I flopped on the end of the bed and kept running a comb through my hair that was still wet from the shower. "The sunsets were so amazing, though." I added as an afterthought.

The corners of Han's mouth were almost imperceptibly turned up in amusement as he watched me ramble on about the people I met and how many times I'd threatened to strangle Miles. I had left for what was supposed to be a month long planning trip to build a hotel in Cancun with my dad's old team member and my business partner. My stay was extended for another two weeks due to a series of delays and a massive storm that came up suddenly. I had been there for Han's birthday, but I had missed Christmas and almost didn't make it back today for New Year's Eve.

Han had considered coming, but he didn't mix well with Miles, so he decided to stay. I knew he wasn't exactly bored here by himself; his birthday present was a beaten up, old Aston Martin DB5 from a junkyard and parts money to fix it up. I had to pry him away from his new baby to get him to drive me to the airport.

"How's your car?" I asked when I realized that I had begun to repeat details.

The corners of his lips pulled up into a real smile as he reached over to my side of the bed and stole my pillow. The muscles in his arms and chest flexed as he fluffed it and put it behind him, propping up against the head board. The movement made the sheets slide even further down his naked torso until it clung just below the curve of his hip bone.

"It's beautiful. Looks just like the James Bond car." He stated sleepily.

"You've already finished it?" I asked. He nodded.

"I'll show you tonight." Even though he was staring up at the ceiling, I could still make out the gleam in his dark eyes. He was more excited about this than I'd seen him in a long time. My heart sank; I didn't want to put a damper on his excitement, but all I wanted to do was lay in that bed next to him and not get out for a week. I was exhausted.

"I was hoping we could stay in tonight." I told him gently. "Just stay out of the crowds, relax, catch up." His small, full mouth pulled down into a frown.

"It's New Year's Eve in Madrid." He deadpanned.

"I know. I've had a long couple days." I reminded. His chest rose and fell as he tried to contain a sigh.

"Just get back in bed with me for a few hours and rest, and then we'll go grab dinner and watch the fireworks. You won't regret it." He suggested as he pulled my pillow from behind his head and tossed it back on my side.

"Do you know how crowded this city is?" I asked incredulously. "In order to actually get dinner, you would have had to have made reservations last month."

"Just trust me." He muttered, sliding further under the sheet and settling down for a nap. With a sigh, I tossed my comb on my nightstand and joined him under the blankets.

"Your car better be worth it." I mumbled. The last thing I saw as I drifted off was his lopsided, sexy smirk.

Z

"Ellie, we need to leave soon." Han called through the bathroom door.

I sighed as I finished dabbing a bit of power on my nose; it was almost starting to peel from all of the sun I had gotten when I was hiding from Miles on the beach. I double checked all of my dark curls in the mirror until I was satisfied that none of them needed to be touched up. Considering how exhausted I felt, I didn't look bad. I had lined my big brown eyes and dusted on a shimmery eye shadow. I had had to put concealer on all of the sunburnt spots on my straight nose and my pointed chin, but over all, it was hard to tell that I had rolled out of bed and thrown on the least amount of makeup possible.

I had seen Han ironing a nice button up, so I had grabbed a red, body hugging mini dress. If I was going to be fighting the skanks off of him all night, then I was going to make sure he had to warn some guys off of me.

"I'm ready." I called as I opened the bathroom door with a little more force than necessary.

Han's back was to me as he rummaged through a dresser drawer. Starting at the noise, he turned around to glance at me before shutting the drawer and grabbing his blazer off the bed. The jerky movement was unusual for Han; everything he did was usually smooth and graceful.

"You look beautiful." He told me quietly as we started heading for the front door.

"You don't look so bad yourself." I shot back flirtily. His lips pulled off his white teeth in a smile.

We stayed in a comfortable silence as we walked down the carpeted halls and into the old elevator. A few seconds after the steel doors shut, I felt the pressure of Han's arm around my waist. Unconsciously, I moved closer into his body heat. He kept his arm around me as we strolled through the lobby and out onto the street.

Excited crowds lined the sidewalk already. The people ranged from families of tourists to drunk college kids in skimpy outfits that looked like they'd been bar hopping already. A heard several different languages being spoken all around me.

Han's hand slipped to the small of my back as he steered me through the swarms towards the garage a block away from the apartment. Crowded places made me very unhappy, but the excitement of the people was spreading to me. I started to feel giddy all the way to my travel weary bones. That was a sign that I was going to be delirious with exhaustion all night, get bitchy at Han at some point half way through dinner, and then pass out in the car on the way home so deeply that Han would have to carry me up to the apartment, but not even that dampened my spirits.

"How long until the fireworks?" I asked Han as he unlocked the garage door and held it open for me.

"Just enough time for dinner." He answered smoothly as he gently pushed me in and closed the door behind us.

My jaw dropped when I saw the Aston Martin sitting beside Han's Lexus; it had come a long way from the rust bucket I had had towed to the garage. Its silver curvy body had been polished until it gleamed. The chrome bumper on the front had been replaced and was dent-free. Everything looked seamlessly original, but I knew that wasn't true. Han had done an amazing job with it.

"It's beautiful." I told him as I reached out to touch the cold metal.

"Wait til you see how it runs." He told me proudly as he strolled past, pulling his keys out of his pocket as he went. A grin spread across my face as we both slid into the little coupe.

It started without a hitch the first time he turned the key. His face was still in a neutrally happy expression, but I could feel the same pride radiating off him that he had for his Nissan Silvia in Tokyo. Seeing him this happy made a wide grin spread across my face.

"Ready for the best dinner you've ever had in Madrid?" He asked as he hit the garage door opener. Light from the street flooded the garage as it began to rise.

"As much as we eat out at the best restaurants in Italy and Madrid, you're going to have to try pretty hard." I challenged. A smirk pulled at his lips.

"We'll see."

Z

"Where the hell are you taking me?" I asked me as he pressed the elevator button for the roof. He had taken me to a random building and dragged me straight into the elevator. Had I been with anyone but Han, I might have been getting nervous. "I hate surprises and this not a restaurant." I continued when he ignored me.

"No faith." He muttered. I huffed and leaned back against the elevator wall. I was starving and I was about to reach the bitchy phase of exhaustion. If he didn't get me to a restaurant quickly, then he was about to be in for a rough night of sarcasm and eye rolls.

Or not, seeing as how he was just as much of a smartass as I was and twice as good at cold shouldering people. He was annoyingly well prepared to handle my mood swings and I tended to get over them when someone handled all of my bullshit.

The elevator doors opened up and my annoyance dissipated. The roof was a terrace, overlooking one of the cities many plazas. Lights had been strung up the place to provide the perfect amount of lighting. A table with two place settings was sitting in the middle of the space. An elderly waiter was standing nearby pulling a bottle of champagne out of an ice bucket.

"Oh my God." I stated blankly. "This is beautiful."

"I had this planned for my mistress, but since you're home early-"He trailed off in a joking tone. I tore my eyes away from the table and punched his bicep. He chuckled and wrapped his arm around me. "Come on."

"How long have you had this planned?" I asked incredulously.

He shrugged. "A while."

"Han, it's too—" I began.

"Don't say much." He cut me off. "You've been worried about business bullshit for weeks; let me take care of you for one night."

I sighed as I sank into the chair the waiter pulled out for me. I had been completely consumed in planning this new business venture for months; letting go of all of the stress was good for me. I still couldn't believe that Han had planned a rooftop dinner where we would have an amazing view of the fireworks; I didn't know what to do with myself when I was the reason for so much fuss.

"Okay." I told him as I decided to just go with it. I picked up my champagne glass. "To the new year." I toasted him.

"To the new year."

Z

"When did you get so good at dancing?" I laughed Han spun me back to him and put his hand back on my waist. After our fabulous dinner was through and the waiter was thanked and dismissed, I had demanded that Han dance with me. He had rolled his eyes at me, but he did it anyway.

"It's almost midnight." He told me as he stopped his movements.

"How close?" I asked him.

I was having more fun than I had in a long time. I could feel the flush from the alcohol and the laughter spreading across my cheeks. Han was decidedly more composed than I was, but he still looked like he was enjoying himself.

"Two minutes." He replied as he pulled me towards the edge of the roof, stopping to unplug the lights along the way.

"What's your resolution, Han?" I asked him as we leaned on railing. Because I was so short, the rail was annoyingly chest height.

"Haven't decided yet." He answered as he looked at his watch. "One minute now. Am I going to get my New Year's kiss when midnight hits?" He joked.

"Not if it gets in the way of me watching the fireworks." I teased back. He chuckled, obviously expecting my answer because I had told him the exact same thing the year before.

Below us in the massive crowd, the countdown started. I pressed my hands on the railing and bounced up on my toes as I waited for the countdown to reach zero like it would somehow allow me to see better. Han steadied me by stepping behind me and wrapping his strong arms around me as the countdown hit zero.

I leaned back against Han as the first few rounds of fireworks started popping off. I found myself laughing as the excitement of the crowd below became infections. Their howls of drunken joy could be heard from the streets several stories below. Han's callous fingers trailed over my hands. I intertwined my fingers with his and let him play with my fingers without looking away.

I had seen the fireworks from my balcony the year before, but I had forgotten how beautiful it was. The explosions of light and color across the Madrid skyline had me captivated. I felt like a small child seeing something shiny. It was borderline embarrassing how excited I was to watch the show, but I didn't care.

My attention was quickly pulled elsewhere when I felt a cold weight settle on my left hand. My chin jerked downward as I pulled my hand out of Han's grip and held it out in front of me. I inhaled sharply at the shock of what I was seeing. My knees went weak and I was suddenly glad he was holding on to me.

The fireworks sent sparks of light off of a massive diamond set on a thin band. Several small diamonds on the band also sparked in the light, but they had nothing on the center one. It was beautiful. It was huge without being clunky on my skinny fingers. It looked feminine and dainty and medium-sized house expensive.

"Oh my God." I finally choked out. He chuckled and leaned down so his lips were almost at my ear lobe. I would have shivered at his hot breath if I hadn't been in such shock.

"Does it fit?" He asked cockily.

"You know the answer to that." I answered numbly as I watched the light reflect of the stone. It was such a perfect fit it looked like the band had been made exactly for my finger.

"Is that a yes then?" He pressed. His light, arrogant tone gave away the fact he already knew; he was just making me say it.

"A yes to what?" I asked, trying to pull up an equally arrogant smirk, but I was so close to hyperventilating it wasn't working. I wasn't even sure why I was hyperventilating; joy, excitement, the fact that I was now responsible for not losing something so expensive, the sheer terror at the thought of planning a wedding.

"Eliana Gonzalez, will you marry me?" He asked. I turned in his grip and craned my neck to see his face; something difficult to do when I was a foot shorter and chest to chest with him. He leaned down and I could see the smirk threatening to pull up the corners of his lips in the firework light.

"Yes, Han Lue. I will, but I really don't want a wedding." I admitted bluntly, still in too much shock to realize I had almost ruined a beautiful moment. Han seemed to be expecting that answer because he chuckled lightly and wrapped his arms around me tighter.

"Then we elope."


	3. Chapter 3

3

A successful marriage involves falling in love many times; always with the same person.

Mignon McLaughlin

Z

Pinks and oranges filled the sky above us as the sun dipped towards the ocean. The last rays were hitting the ice blue water causing the waves and ripples to be blindingly bright. The thin fabric of my dress swirled around my legs as the wind swept around me from off the sparkling Mediterranean. It carried with it the smell of salt and the soothing sounds of the waves breaking on the wet sand. It whipped my hair and made goose bumps travel up my arms from the cold caress. I didn't really mind the cold, though. I was thoroughly distracted by Han's full lips capturing my own in kiss that was probably inappropriate in front of a preacher.

Eventually, when we were both about to suffocate from lack of air, we pulled away. My mouth curled up in a smile as Han rested his forehead on mine. I opened my eyes to see him smiling too.

"Buena suerte." The preacher whispered quietly. I heard him close his Bible and walk away, but I was too focused on Han to care.

"Happy, Mrs. Seoul-Oh?" Han teased quietly. Amusement colored his voice. I laughed as I opened my eyes and moved my face away from his.

"Does that mean I should change the name on my fake i.d. to Leia?" I joked with a grin as I tried to let go of his hands and pull away. Not having that, he pulled on my arms sending falling against his chest. I chuckled as I reached up to grab his shoulders and steady myself. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer.

"I never should have brought that up." He muttered with an eye roll.

"I already know you're a secret dork." I told with a laugh. He snorted and I shoved him playfully.

Before I knew what was happening, my lips were on his again. I pushed myself up on my toes, arching into him to steady myself, letting my hands wander up to the back of his neck. His arms wrapped around my waist where they stayed for a minute before he changed his mind and let his hands wander across my back, over my hips, and all over my body, pulling me closer to him.

This day was perfect. Just me, him, and the priest on a secluded stretch of Spanish beach next to the Mediterranean. There was nothing to take away from our moment: no bitchy bridesmaids, no church full of judgey wedding guest, no family feuds. Everything about it was simple.

I hadn't even really bothered with a wedding dress. I wore a short dress in a filmy white, flowy fabric with a sweet heart neckline. The only piece of jewelry I wore was a chain holding my engagement ring around my neck. My hair was left naturally wavy and pulled up into a simple pony tail with an orchid pinned at the band. I'm pretty sure the only make up I had put on was mascara and lipstick. Han had worn khakis and a white button up

There was nothing more beautiful than seeing him waiting for me with the priest. I was going to remember the way he looked at me when he saw me for the first time until the day I died. It made everything feel real; it finally hit me that this was forever. For the first time, I saw us growing old together, and that made me love him even more.

"Come on. We gotta go." He cut his eyes towards the growing storm cloud down the beach. Lightening flashed up in the cloud.

"We have enough time to watch the sunset." I insisted as I grabbed his hand and turned him towards where the sun was dipping down.

"This is typical; me looking at the rain, and you looking at the sunsshine." Han joked.

"We balance each other out." I answered with a smile.

As I stood next to him watching the sky, I kept absentmindedly playing with my wedding band with my thumb. It was a simple silver band that was almost narrow enough to be a wire. Han didn't have a band at all; he had a very expensive watch with the date engraved on the back plate. He had never liked wearing rings.

The top of the sun had just disappeared when a louder crack of thunder sounded above us and fat raindrops started to fall with the wind. I watched him look up at the darkening sky above us before turning to give me a pointed look. I shrugged.

"You knew what you were getting into when you chose to watch the sun with me." He snorted and shook his head.

"The preacher tried told me we might as well write our own vows because we were butchering the original. That would have fit in yours perfectly." He joked as he started pulling me down the beach towards our beach house.

"That would have been awful. You're laconic and I'm emotionally retarded." I exclaimed as I started jogging.

He started to chuckle.

"What so funny? We're about to get wet." I reminded as I pointed back to threatening cloud.

"I love you." He answered. I bounced onto my toes and pecked his cheek.

"I love you back."

Z

"Han, no!" I shrieked before I dissolved into laughter when he wrapped his arms around my waist and gently tipped me back into bed. I spun around in his arms and lightly smacked his chest with both of my fists. He grunted and tightened his hold.

Outside our windows, a bright flash of lightening lit up the trees bend double by the wind. The soothing sound of rain against the roof quickened to a driving, angry pace. Thunder rumbled as even more intense amount of lightening split the sky in bright, forked streaks. A loud clap of thunder that signified something being struck startled me and I moved closer into Han. He seemed to take that as a sign I was staying bed and pulled the pillow under his head so he could get more comfortable.

"Don't you want cupcakes, Han?" I asked him breathlessly as I tried to wiggle free. He loosened his grip on me and I propped myself up on my elbow so I could look at him.

He hadn't said a word about the fact that I was now his wife since we left the beach, but his full lips had been turned up at the corners at the corners all night in that sexy almost smirk he always had. It looked even more attractive now with his hair mussed up from me tugging on it in an attempt to get him to let me up.

"Can I have a sandwich with that cupcake?" He asked cockily.

"You'll get exactly what I bring you." I told him cheekily as I flicked his nose and untangled myself.

He shook his head with a snort as he watched me pull on my robe and fix my hair in the mirror. I opened my mouth to make another sarcastic comment at him, but I was cut off when my phone rang. I snatched it off the dresser, and frowned at the unknown number.

"Who's calling us now?" He asked as he propped himself up on his elbows.

"No idea. I'll be back." I waved over my shoulder as I flipped my phone open. "Hello?"

"Miss Delgado?" A very clipped, official sounding voice came over the line.

"Yes? Who's this?" My eyebrows knitted together as I ran through the list of people who could possibly be calling me past midnight on my wedding night.

The man paused and I heard papers shuffling.

Great. The architect's having issues in Cancun. I thought as I reached for the big box of cupcakes.

"Miss Delgado, I'm Major Denton with U.S. Army." The man's voice sounded even more grave than before, if that was possible. My grip on a cupcake tightened until it crumpled.

"Is something wrong?" I could already feel the panic rising. I knew the answer; I'd already had this conversation once before.

"I am sorry to inform you that your sister, Hanna Rodriguez, was killed early yesterday morning." He droned. There was a touch of sorrow and pity to his voice, but the overall statement was so clinical I felt sick.

"What were the circumstances? She was in Germany; that's not exactly a war zone." I snapped as the tears filled my eyes.

Hana was my best friend and the closest thing to a sister I had ever had. She was my brother's fiancée. After he was killed, she had decided that she wanted to travel and had ended up with Japan as her next assignment. She was the person that pulled Han out of the burning car. Afterwards, she took him to a condemned hospital where we were both treated by an old Japanese doctor with army friends and huge grudge against Kamata.

We had remained in touch and got even closer than we were when she was dating my brother. She was the first person Han and I told about our engagement. We had been planning to visit her in a few months when she had some leave.

"I realize how hard this is for you to hear." The man continued. He sounded completely exhausted; I wondered how many calls he had made that night.

"It's even harder not knowing." I countered. It sounded meaner than I meant for it to.

"She was part of a convoy moving satellite parts. It was attacked, and every single person was killed." The man admitted slowly. A part deep within me stirred. I'd taken out people that did things like this before; I could do it again.

"Do you know who is responsible?" I asked eagerly as the tears began to fall.

"No." He spoke sternly.

"Surely you have a lead, or know of a similar attack?" I pressed further.

"Miss Delgado, I assure you that even if I did know, that information would be classified." He sounded strangely appalled at my curiosity; or maybe he was just ready to hang up so he could be done and go to bed.

"Of course, sir." I finished politely.

"I am sorry for your loss." For the first time, he sounded really, truly sincere and that made the tears come out.

"I'm sorry for yours as well." I returned from around the lump in my throat.

"God bless." He ended as he hung up quickly.

Hot tears poured down my face as the news really sunk in. I tried to wipe them away and only succeeded in smearing cupcake icing all over my cheeks. Any attempts to get it off only made it worse and got it in my hair. Frustrated, I just sat in the floor and cried into my hands.

A few minutes later, I felt Han beside me. Trying to save a little face, I straightened up a little and started to trying to scrape the tears and icing away. Wordlessly, he dropped to his knees beside me and started to help. The gentle brush of his fingers on my cheek felt better than I really wanted to admit.

"I forgot your sandwich." I finally murmured. He kissed my forehead.

"What's going on?" He asked soothingly.

"Hanna' s gone." I sobbed. I tried to hold it all in, but it wasn't working. He scooted closer and put my head on his naked shoulder. For a minute I tried to resist, but then I gave up and buried my face in his neck. "She was moving something and her convoy was attacked."

His breath caught in his throat. He had been attached to Hanna too. I'm pretty sure at one point she had told him that a connection to her wasn't optional because she was practically his sister and she could have easily left him in the street.

"Han I feel like she was the only blood family I had left besides Sean, even though she wasn't." I sobbed into his neck. He scooped me up off the floor and deposited me in his lap. From this new position, he could hold me tighter.

He stayed like that, holding me and stroking my hair. He didn't offer fake words of comfort or try to tell me everything was fine. He just let me cry into his neck.

Several times I tried to pull myself together and make it stop, but the tears would flow again. Finally I gave up on pulling myself together, let it go, and cried myself to sleep

Z

There was a memorial set up where the soldiers died in Berlin; it was just pile of flowers, flags, and candles against a building that was a little damaged. There was a giant hole through the wall that someone said was made by a car.

The road nearby was charred with debris scattered everywhere and orange spray paint cutting the black to mark the final resting place of the overturned military vehicles. The way in and out was blocked with a police barricade and personnel from all different organizations were swarming over every inch of the damage. I could tell by looking at it that they were professionals and didn't leave a trace.

It didn't take long for my stomach to twist at the morbid sight of the carnage.

The memorial didn't make me any less sick. I kept seeing pictures of Hanna posing with her friends or smiling in her uniform. She looked happy in every single one of them—something that didn't shock me considering how much she had loved Berlin; it was by far her favorite place on the globe.

Han slipped his arm around my shoulder from behind.

This was the closest I would get to going to her funeral because she was being buried next to my brother at home. I hadn't gone to his funeral either; I just couldn't take it. I made it through half of my dad's before the Yakuza had shown up. I wondered if refusing to see them off made me a bad daughter and sister.

"Dude, I heard they lit everything on fire and just let them burn to death." A young soldier commented to his friend as they walked by. Han tightened his grip on my shoulders, but change the fact that all of a sudden, there was no air. I couldn't watch the endless stream of people staring at the aftermath, couldn't handle knowing that somewhere in the US the coffin going into the ground, couldn't handle knowing that Hanna was really gone, and I definitely couldn't handle thinking about her dying painfully like that. I jerked around out of Han's grip and started walking away. A few minutes later I heard his boots hitting the ground behind me, so I slowed down to let him catch up.

"Ellie." He whispered as he moved my hair off my neck to cool me off. I leaned into his touch and let him wrap me in his arms again.

"I need to steal something." I muttered breathlessly. His face changed from confused and concerned to a weary amusemed. He hugged me tighter and bent down to my ear, pulling off the baseball hat I had been using to hide my face in the process.

"Three days from now I'm going to pick up some cars from my partner." His lips brushed my ear.

"Can we make that tonight?" I asked seriously.

He paused for a minute, letting his hand absentmindedly stroke my hair as he weighed the decision.

"I'll make the call."

Z

Han's partner was a fat old Spaniard who liked to pretend he was a big time gangster; basically the just past middle aged version of DK. He didn't need the money from it; he was old real estate money with a family name that went back centuries. He just did it simply because he was bored and looking for excitement in his old age.

Their business consisted of stealing cars and either selling them off or occasionally using them for parts. Most of the cars were shipped overseas somewhere where they ended up in the showroom of a luxury used car lot to be snatched up by some guy in the middle of his midlife crisis. I had always thought it was a sad end to an old beauty, but Han wasn't quite as sentimental as I was.

"Ready?" I asked him as I sped down the Autobahn in an inconspicuous black Mercedes.

He smirked at me from the passenger's seat before flipping his bangs out of the way. His eyes lit up with anticipation. The corners of my mouth unconsciously pulled up when I turned my eyes back on the road. It wasn't a real smile, but it was getting there.

"This exit." Han called as he read directions off his phone.

A red SUV went by us like it was going in reverse. I cut over in front of it and pulled off the Autobahn. He directed me over a few streets before we reached a nicely landscaped house in a neighborhood of half mansions. When he gestured that we were there, I pulled over and killed the engine.

"A 2006 Aston Martin V10 Vanquish is sitting in the garage." He told me as he pocketed his cell phone.

"Let's go." I replied eagerly as I opened my door and gestured for Han to follow.

The cool night air bit into the exposed skin of my neck and hands, but I barely noticed at all. My heart was pounding in my ears and the adrenaline was taking the pain away. It felt better to be out here than I remembered. It had been a while since I'd been out here with Han. Work had kind of gotten in the way.

Han jogged past me so he could get to the garage door first. While he tried it to make sure it was locked, I went ahead and pulled out my lock picks. Unsurprisingly, the door was locked tight. Within a minute, I had it picked at we were inside, staring at the beautiful white Aston.

"I've missed this." I told him as I ran my hand down the front quarter panel to the hood where the latch was.

"I've missed watching this." He replied with a smile.

A tossed him a flirty glance over my shoulder as I started to work. While I was getting the doors opened, he gently slid up the garage door. We worked quickly and silently; at that point, we didn't even need to speak to know what the other was thinking. He was sitting in the passenger seat and I was about to turn over the engine when his phone started ringing obnoxiously.

He grabbed for it quickly and got it silenced before he glanced at the caller ID.

"It's Dom." He said quickly before he flipped it open.

"Dom?" My good mood soared. Dom's phone calls meant a job. A job meant a distraction; a break from the monotony I'd forced myself into.

Han's face scrunched in confusion as he listened to what was going on. He said a few things back and forth with Dom that I didn't really pay attention to. Finally, he hung up and turned to face me. Right on cue, my phone rang in my pocket.

"Let's get out of here. He can tell me." I suggested as I turned over the engine. I pulled out of the drive way as I pulled my phone out.

"Hello." I answered as I stopped alongside the Mercedes. Han got out and signaled for me drive. The second he shut his door I was speeding down the street, back towards the Autobahn.

"Ellie." Dom's deep voice came over the line.

"Dom. It's been a while." I replied as started pushing the Aston as hard as it would go. It responded and shot forward smoothly like a jet.

"It has." He was slow to answer, like he was stopping to think about everything he said. "I know things didn't go the way we wanted last time, but you're still family. "

He paused and let me take that in.

"We've got a job."


	4. Chapter 4

I woke up today in London

As the plane was touching down

Z

London was my Tokyo.

It was the one place on earth I had dreamed of going for as long as I could remember. Back in the projects of San Juan where I grew up, I never thought I would have the money to make the trip. Years later when I was looking for places to settle down after I left Han, London had been at the top of my list, but then Madrid caught my attention. Being there now brought a smile to my face and dulled some of the pain of the past week.

Han had given me hell for my attachment to this place, but from what I understood, he had been the same way with Tokyo. Well, minus the being glued to the car window like an excited child in the taxi; I appreciated him not commenting on that one. I wanted to pretend that he hadn't noticed, but I could tell from the pull on his mouth that it was taking every bit of the control he had in him to not smile.

"This is it." The taxi driver finally broke the silence as he moved off to the side of the road.

A fairly inconspicuous, brand new building stood tall and straight on a busy road. It was a hell of a lot different than anything I'd ever worked in before, and it was definitely a far cry from the dilapidated factory we called home in Rio. I guess working for the good guys had its advantages.

I snuck a look at Han as I slid out of the taxi beside me. His face was a pleasant neutral, but even though his aviators were blocking his eyes, I could tell they were gleaming with excitement. This was Han's perfect job; we would be taking out an impossible opponent with probably the most high tech equipment from an upscale hide out in the middle of a rich part of town. If it wasn't made for him, I don't know what is.

We pulled our bags out of the trunk and walked into the half built lobby together. It smelled like caulk, paint, and dust; it was spotlessly clean and covered in plastic. Han pushed the shiny elevator button that hadn't been worn and smudged by use yet.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him glance over at me, then look me up and down. I looked a lot better than I did when I showed up in Rio; I was wearing dark skinny jeans and a girly mint blouse that actually fit my frame. My leather boots were polished and clean. My hair was neatly curled and pulled back off my makeup covered face. The few tiny pieces of jewelry I had on were all gifts from Han.

When I joined the team in Rio, I was wearing oil stained, ripped jeans, a rumpled shirt that was way too big for my skinny frame, and dusty work boots that had a hole in the toe. I couldn't have been bothered to fix my scraggly hair or do anything to my face, which had made me look years younger than I actually was. The team had welcomed me with open arms, but I could still see the doubt that I was competent written all over their faces.

I had changed a lot in two years; all for the better. I was a lot more confident and mature. Back in Rio, I had the ability to do my job well, but I was too mousy to really speak in front of the team or do anything without Dom's go ahead. It wasn't going to be like that this time.

Han gently brushed my side bangs behind my ear and I knew his razor sharp, eagle eyes had found the one thing that didn't look so great on me right now; the dark circles under my eyes.

"How do you feel?" He asked sweetly.

"I couldn't sleep; I felt sick all night, but I feel better now." I admitted as he let his hand fall. "Lack of sleep's kind of getting to me, though; look, I slammed my fingers in a damn door this morning." I held up my left hand to him, the tips of my pinky and ring finger obviously swollen. My wedding band sat innocently on my middle finger where it would stay until the swelling went down.

Han chuckled lightly as the stainless steel doors slid open and we moved our bags into the elevator. Han didn't even try to fight me as I grabbed my own because he knew I was way too stubborn to let him carry it for me. We'd had that fight at least once during every single trip we'd ever been on, before the car fight even started.

"Only you could manage that one." He deadpanned as he gestured to my fingers.

"I wasn't paying attention and my caffeine hadn't kicked in." I defended weakly.

"Might want to keep it on that finger until they don't have time to give you hell." He teased as he brushed his finger tip around the thin band. I opened my mouth to retort, but then I realized how bad they really would tease me. I was a lot bolder than I used to be, but I still blushed far too easily and they'd have a field day with that.

Han chuckled again. "We'll tell them at the barbeque when it's all over."

"Give them some credit; they'll figure it out before it's over." I told him brightly as the elevator door opened. I tapped the engagement ring that was sitting under my shirt on a long chain.

Brian was standing at a table covered in computer monitors, shiny, new, and ready to go. Several more tables equally stocked with top of the line equipment were spread out across the room. A sparkling, fresh off the factory floor BMW was parked in the corner of the room, just waiting for me to coax it up to our standards.

He turned when he heard the doors open. A bright, toothpaste commercial smile flashed with his bright blue eyes when he saw us come in. When we reached him, I was wrapped in a quick hug and a kiss was pressed into my cheek. Han got the usual one armed bro hug before he yelled his greeting to Dom.

I pleasantly shot back the proper small talk to Brian as I looked Dom over. The big man was standing in front of the floor to ceiling windows with his arms crossed like a statue. He smiled back at Han, but it never reached his eyes. This was the worst I'd ever seen him look. His dark circles were worse than mine. His bulging muscles were obviously knotted with tension, something that I had never seen in Dom before. He had always been quiet and calculating, but this quiet made me a little nervous.

I dropped my bag on a table top as I wandered further inside the hide out to get a better look at where we were working. I was staring at a semi-circle of monitors with the team we were taking out displayed in full view when Dom caught sight of me. He spun almost all the way around to look at me before he exchanged a pointed look with Han over my head that I didn't quite understand. Han shrugged amicably in response.

"It's good to see you again, Dom." I said as I moved closer to him. He left his place at the window to meet me in the middle and pull me in a hug.

"How was Moscow?" Dom asked as he gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.

"It went off without a hitch and our man that got shot is now the happiest he's ever been." I reported as I hugged him back. It was like wrapping my arms around a tree.

"Glad to hear it." He muttered before he turned back to face the window overlooking the city.

"Nice place." Han called from the other side of the floor as opened up the chips he'd been saving in his bag.

"Knew you'd like it." Dom called back.

While Han wandered over to the monitors with Brian, I moved over to the cars. They were totally factory tuned, but I could work my magic on them in no time. I was running my hands over the cool steel, plotting out my next move, when the elevator doors slid open again. The click of boot heels announced newest arrival.

Oh shit. I froze leaning over the engine. I had been so busy mourning Hanna that I had forgotten one very important thing: Gisele.

Gisele was the only other female team member aside from Mia. She was all long legs, leather, guns, recklessness and motorcycles; in short, everything that turned Han on before the accident in Tokyo. If he hadn't have settled down a little after that, I truly believe they would have been perfect for each other.

But he did settle down. The almost fatal incident had changed his way of thinking about everything. I just don't think he realized how much until he was travelling around Europe with her after Rio. He left her after he found me again in Madrid. She seemed to take it well, but it was always awkward.

"Hey, Gisele." I heard Brian greet her.

There was a shuffle of movement that meant he was wrapping her in a hug. My heart started pounding as I heard her return the greeting before she asked about Mia and the baby. I risked a look back and saw Dom watching me out of the corner of his eye. She strolled into my field of view a few seconds later. She looked the same as the last time I had seen her; tall, booted, and wearing tight pants with an expensive sleeveless top.

Was it bad to not know how I felt about her being here? I hadn't thought about her once since we got the call. I knew I didn't have to worry about Han around her. He had worked very hard to get me back and had cared enough about me to marry me; he deserved my trust around her. The only question was did she deserve any sort of trust?

I knew exactly what Hanna would say about her when I told her.

My vision swam as I heard Han and Gisele awkwardly say hello before I heard something being moved on one of the metal tables. I also heard the scuff of boots getting closer.

"I'm okay." I turned around and gave Han a fake smile that I knew he saw through immediately. I just decided I might as well drop it. "Tonight's Skype night."

"I remembered." His lips pressed together in thin line; a sign that had always meant he was upset and trying to keep it out of the rest of his face.

"How are you holding up, Han?" I asked him honestly as I reached for a wrench.

"I was looking forward to her having time off." He answered after a moment of thought. That was Han speak for 'I miss her'. "When this is over, do you want to go see her? Get some closure?"

"I'd like that. I need it more than I ever thought I would." I told him honestly. He nodded before he pressed a light kiss to my forehead.

"As soon as he gets our paperwork done, I'll get the flight set up." He flashed me a white smile as he moved off to a column so he could prop and eat his snack.

Before I even had time to reply, the elevator opened one more time.

A few seconds later, Tej yelled "Thank God! Finally some equipment I can work with! Way better than that trash in Rio."

I gave up my work and propped against the side of the car as Rome turned the corner and fist bumped Han. I accidentally made eye contact with Gisele, but we dropped it quickly.

"Way better." She muttered as she played with a lethal looking gun.

"Look who came all the way back from Mother Russia! How you doing, baby girl?" He yelled as his bright teeth shone from his grin.

"I couldn't miss a chance to see you." I shot back. He laughed before turning around to look at the equipment filling the room.

The sound of the elevator open signaled the arrival of the last member of our team. I tensed a little bit as the sound of boots hitting concrete around the corner could be heard from the massive agent. I was surprised when I heard two voices speaking softly.

"Anyone heard from Leo or Santos?" Brian cut right to the chase before we got started.

"Yeah, last time anyone's seen them they were hitting up the casinos in Monte Carlo." Han answered.

"It didn't go well. I floated them some money, but I don't think it lasted very long."

"Hey, I thought that was our last job, Brian. And who's paying for all this equipment? The taxpayers? So now we working for the Hulk." Rome rapid fired off questions before he flexed his arms inward in a bad impression of a body builder. I'd seen Twinkie do the same thing when he was explaining to me why Bruce Banner was the best Marvel character ever created. The twitch at Han's mouth said he remembered too.

Brian smiled slightly as the boots got louder, meaning the Hulk definitely heard that. Rome was none the wiser.

"Is that what we doing?" He continued. "Why do I smell baby oil?" He trailed off.

"You keep running your pie hole, you're going to smell an ass kicking." Hobbs finally turned the corner and came into my view. The only thing different about him was the buff, similarly dressed female agent trailing behind him. She got in Rome's face before she followed Hobbs to a big table in the middle. Rome looked a little disturbed by her closeness.

"Alright," Dom brought everyone to order with a single word. He finally left the window and walked towards the table. "You've got the best team in the world right in front of you. Give them a reason to stay."

Hobbs glanced around at the people in the room. He focused on me for a long second with raised eyebrows, but he didn't comment.

"Alright, our target's name is Owen Shaw. Former Major in the SAS, Spec Ops soldier. He ran the UK division in Kabul and Basra." He dropped his file on the table.

"Damn, we talking vehicular warfare. Best in the world. " Tej joined Hobbs at the table, and everyone else slowly started moving that way.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Rome edging over to ask Han a question. In response, Han turned his chip bag upside down and gave him a pointed look when nothing fell out.

"For years they've been running jobs in Europe. Their most recent jobs have graduated them to a whole new level. Three targets, highly specific." Hobbs began.

"Have the other jobs been on the level of Berlin, or is that just the biggest?" I asked slowly. His eyebrows shot up.

"That's the biggest, but the others have been close. We tried to keep it out of the press as much as possible. They hit Moscow and it caused almost as much damage as the gang war last December." My lips curled up in a smirk. I might have lost Hanna, but I knew that if anyone could take him out it was us. There weren't going to be any more memorials. "Do you know anything else about Shaw?"

"I lost my sister in Berlin. That's all I know about Shaw, but I can check with people on our side. They may know something you don't or know somebody that does." My smirk faded out with the mention of Hanna's name and my mouth was pressed back into a hard line. Hobbs nodded.

Hobbs attempted to continue, but Rome started begging change off of Tej.

"Damn, you're a millionaire and you're still trying to ask for money?" Tej snapped at him as he dropped the change from his pockets into Rome's waiting palm.

"That's how you stay a millionaire." Rome deadpanned as he headed towards the snack machine in the corner. Han looked more than a little annoyed at the interruption that took place right in front of him.

"So what does this all mean?" Brian brought the conversation back around to something more serious.

"Our best guess is that Shaw's crew is building a Nightshade device." Hobbs answered.

"Which is?" Gisele snapped when no one said anything.

"A tech bomb, which has the ability to block an entire military communication grid for twenty-four hours."

"Blind a soldier for a single second in a fight, and he dies. Blind a country for twenty-four hours; the loss of life is unthinkable. This could be worth billions to the right buyer."

"Really? Why didn't we just steal that shit?" Tej muttered.

"Hey, man! Which one of these is a dollar?" Rome interrupted from the vending machine, waving a Euro.

Settling it once and for all with an eye roll, Hobbs pulled out his gun.

"It's on the house." He snarked as the glass in the vending machine shattered. I jumped when the gun went off.

"I want you to help me catch Shaw." He went straight back to point while Rome shook the glass off his candy. "He only has one piece left before he gets what he needs and I intend to stop him before he gets it. And I know you guys are a family; I'm offering you a chance right now to make that family whole again."

He dropped a thin file with a picture paper clipped to the front right in front of Dom. There was a woman, dark haired and tanned skinned, wearing a wife beater and leather jacket in black and white. She was looking down, but I could tell she was beautiful just from her profile. Dom's face changed when he saw her; it was still unreadable, but it had softened considerably.

I could tell how much he loved her just from that look. She had been gone for years, but it looked like nothing had changed for him at all. I couldn't imagine what losing her had been like for him. I knew their story from Han, including her death during a drug run.

Han had gotten the call when we were just getting ready for bed. I dozed off after he left to answer his phone and when I woke up, he still wasn't back. I found him sitting on our couch, glassy eyed and drunk, with a bottle of whisky resting on his knee. If that was what he went through, I couldn't imagine Dom and Mia's heartbreak.

I also couldn't imagine why she didn't come back. Something was off about that.

"You want to make this family whole again? Get us to Letty; we'll get you Shaw. I want full pardons all around." Brian took control for Dom.

"I can't promise you that." Hobbs admitted.

"Yes you can." Brian insisted.

"There's the deal; take it or leave it." Dom backed him up with a cocky smirk, already knowing he had won the argument.

"You get me Shaw, I'll get your pardons." He finally caved. His eye cut over to me for a split second. "Do you even need a pardon?"

"I got into some trouble about a year ago." I answered honestly.

"Doing what? Skimming money off the top from selling Girl Scout cookies?" He pressed.

"Stealing and lighting things on fire. I mostly kept it contained to Moscow. And Tokyo. And that one time in Hong Kong." I shrugged at him as he exhaled sharply and turned his attention back to Brian. Han and I shared a quick look that somehow no one noticed.

"This time things are different. We're not dealing with cops. We're not dealing with drug dealers. This is a whole different level." He stopped at let it sink it to the team.

"We getting paid, right?" Rome broke the silence and everybody sighed.

Z

"Either come in, or go out; I can't take the leaning on the door frame." I glanced at Han from my spot at the sink where I brushing out my hair.

He moved slowly, shutting the door behind him, until he was standing beside me in the bathroom mirror. I looked up at him as he ran his fingertips through my hair before he trailed them down my neck and across my shoulder.

"What's wrong? Afraid Rome will wear you out at the bar?" I whispered. I shifted my weight until I was facing him completely. I expected him to let his hand drop and to start getting ready to leave, but instead he moved his fingers to my jaw before he pressed a light, gentle kiss to my lips.

"I think I can handle him." He replied smoothly.

"Yo Han, we're ready to go! Tej found a pack of cards so this time I can really kick your ass." Rome yelled from the hallway outside our room, causing Han to snort.

"Well, we now know how thin the walls are." I joked as he called Han's name one more time. It was a heck of a lot louder than it should have been. "What's bothering you?"

"I wanted to see how you really were." Han stated as he pulled back.

"I survive grief by staying busy. This is the best thing for me." I forced a smile as I picked up my hair brush.

"I think it's a little more than that." He deadpanned as he leaned back on the counter, blocking my view of the mirror. I sighed.

"Being back is weird. I feel like I bailed out on them at one of the worst times possible." I finally admitted what had been bothering me for a while. Han chuckled.

"They respect you for walking away from ten million dollars without thinking about yourself to go to a family member that needed you. If you would have stayed for the job, I'm not sure Dom would trust you being back." He told me over Rome's obnoxious yelling and banging on the door.

"I—" I knew I need to reply so he could leave, but my mind went blank.

"Don't ever let anyone tell you that you didn't deserve to be trusted." He turned to leave, kissing me on the cheek as he opened the door. "You belong in this family just as much as anyone else."

And with that, he was gone. Rome's obnoxiously loud mouth faded out down the hall.

I smiled faintly as I dropped my brush back on the sink.

For the first time, I really felt like a member of Team Toretto.

I felt like I belonged with them. I still missed Hanna with everything I had, but finally feeling apart of this team helped a little bit. They reminded me so much of my dad, my brother, and Hanna. They were just like the blood family that had I had been without for way too long.


	5. Chapter 5

Rated: T - English - Crime/Tragedy - Reviews: 117 - Published: 04-26-13 - Updated: 08-15-19 id:9239293  
"Life is nothing but a competition to be the criminal rather than the victim."

Bertrand Russell

Z

It felt like I had just blinked when I felt the blankets move and the mattress dip under a new weight. I knew I couldn't have been out more than fifteen minutes. I shifted over, giving Han more room to lie down since I was taking up most of his side of the bed. The movement stopped immediately.

"You don't have to be quiet. I'm awake." I murmured softly.

He sighed tiredly before he slipped all the way under the blankets and struggled to get comfortable on the flat pillows. He finally settled on his stomach.

"I couldn't sleep because I was thinking." I answered the question before he could ask it.

"What about?" He sounded like he could drop into a yearlong nap in a second.

"Why didn't she try?" That got his attention. His weight rocked to the side and I could picture him looking at me in confusion. I tried to look at him, but the few bars of city light not stopped by the curtains did nothing to illuminate his face.

"He left her because he thought he was protecting her. He made sure she couldn't follow. She was probably seriously injured and after that gave up." He explained sleepily.

"She was willing to risk death and prison and everything else to get him immunity. Why not at least send a 'fuck you and have a nice life' letter to him in prison? His trial was international news; she would have heard about it. There's just something not right about it." I argued.

"Nice to know how you would handle that situation." He replied acidly.

"Are you planning on life in prison anytime soon? Because if you are, I'll go ahead and give you a heads up; leave me like that and I'll show up to the trial just to strangle you." I rolled over on my side, burying deep in the comforter. He snorted.

"You realize you'd end up in the cell next to me."

"Well, it wouldn't be the worst date we've ever had."

"What is worse than that?" He asked incredulously.

"Moscow." I scrunched my face at the memory of Harper brazenly walking in on us making out like teenagers.

"That doesn't count." He shot back.

The silence between us got heavy. With his added body heat, I soon got pleasantly warm and sleepy. My eyelids started to really droop and my body felt heavy. I was almost out when I felt Han squirm to get comfortable beside me.

"Try not to blame her for Hanna. None of this really makes sense. She could be stuck like you in Tokyo." He whispered.

I let the weight of his words settle between us. Right now we were chasing a ghost; there was a disconnect between the woman I'd heard stories about and the woman shooting soldiers. I could tolerate her for the moment, but I wasn't sure how long that would last. When the time came, would I be able to see her as family or would she just be an enemy?

Z

The next morning I woke up confused. It took several seconds of staring around the room to finally remember where I was.

It was obviously late morning. The room was brighter than I thought it would be from the sun hitting the curtains. Lots of light was creeping in from around the edges. Han was already gone for the day; I could tell by his open suitcase and a wet towel from his shower draped over a chair back.

Usually I at least heard him start moving around in the bathroom, but apparently I was more tired than I thought.

With a sigh, I settled back down into the comforter. I was completely unwilling to give up my little pocket of warmth, but I knew that sooner or later I would have to. Outside our room I could hear someone stirring in the hall. Everyone else was probably already gathered downstairs.

I was dozing off again when a loud bang echoed off the door before it swung inward.

"Hey yo, Han! Elllie's not in her room. Have-" Rome took one step in and stopped dead.

"What?" I blinked at him sleepily.

"Whoa, baby girl. What the hell are you doing in Han's bed?" Rome's jaw was hanging wide open as he took in me curled up in the sheets.

"What?" I asked as I felt a blush creep up my neck and into my cheeks. Maybe we should have just announced that we were together the second we set foot in the building.

"Did ya'll officially work out all the sexual tension?" Rome screamed loudly.

"We started that a year ago." I muttered in aggravation.

He laughed loudly and shut the door behind him before he walked in and flopped on the edge of my bed.

"What the hell happened?" He asked immediately.

"You do know how working out sexual tension happens right?" I shot as I rolled over.

"Man, are y'all good with all that personal shit? We got Dom and Brian dealing with shit, and now you and Han officially back together. Is this going to end in some twisted love triangle—" He was about to start off on another rant, but I sat up and slapped him in the back of the head. He swore loudly and started glaring.

"There is no love triangle, or personal shit going on between the three of us, and that's not going to change, so I swear to God if you go around starting shit with that loud ass mouth of yours, Roman, I—" I huffed as I was cut off by his shoulder-shaking belly laugh that was getting louder by the second.

"What happened to you being sweet? Damn." He choked out.

"I have never been sweet!" I haughtily tossed my tangled, messed up hair at him as I finally forced myself out of bed.

I ignored his obnoxious laughter as I picked up my clothes and make up bag off the top of my suitcase and then locked myself in the bathroom. Rome filled me in on his life as a millionaire through the door while I got ready and then we walked downstairs together.

Everything was quiet and steady; like the air before a storm that spawns a lethal tornado.

Hobbs was releasing a prisoner with a wire to check up on Shaw tonight. I doubted that we'd even find Shaw tonight, but I knew that if we did, things were going to get dangerous fast.

I'd never admit it, but I was worried. Things were different this time around. We'd overcome a lot of long odds before, but Shaw was on a whole new level. He also had one of ours under his command. You could see the hope oozing off of Brian and Dom, but what happened when they saw Letty working against them? What if she didn't want to come back?

I glanced over at Han who was sitting on a BMW hood slowly munching on a pack of snack cakes. Rome was grinning at him and cracking jokes about him being the only one getting any tail on this trip. I caught the words "feisty as hell" being said. Han just ignored him and ate his snack cake.

"You know we're glad to see you back." Brian materialized from nowhere beside my chair.

"Yeah?" I gave him a small smile.

"Yeah. Rome needs someone to back him off." He paused as he shifted his weight from foot to foot. "I'm sorry about your sister. We're going to get the bastards that did this."

All except for one. An unexpected wave of bitterness hit me.

I couldn't force out any words, so I just nodded.

Z

"What are we going to do if Shaw doesn't take the bait?" Gisele asked the question we'd all been thinking.

Hobbs didn't even bother to reply; he was obviously in commando mode.

His posture was so rigid he looked like a GI Joe action figure. He had been pacing at the side railing of the parking garage for about half an hour now with a menacing look on his face watching the horde of cops below. Every once in a while he would bark orders into a radio that kept him in contact with probably a hundred SWAT team members that were waiting to overtake the building next door.

All of these cops were making me a little itchy. Rome was fidgeting next to me so I knew he was feeling it too. I already knew Shaw wouldn't get caught by the cops—way too many things could go wrong for this to work—but I was looking forward to seeing how he ran against us.

"He will. Interpol picked up his guy in Moscow, then I had a little therapy session with him. He gave up Shaw's hide out." He stopped pacing and stood between Gisele and Dom.

"And why aren't we down there now?" Gisele asked.

Riley's lips twitched like she was trying to hold back a sneer.

"We weren't invited." Hobbs replied evenly.

"Hobbs." Tej called from his monitor. "They said they need a punching bag; he's wired and he's going to get a positive ID on Shaw before they move in."

There was a tense silence as we waited to hear something come in over the monitor speaker besides the sound of footsteps. Shaw's voice couldn't be heard soon enough for me; I was freezing despite my jacket and getting grumpy from waiting for so long. Finally a smooth, cold voice asking if the cops just let him go came through the speakers. Everyone sat up a little straighter.

"Don't worry; I didn't give him shit." The Interpol rat's voice answered.

"Oh, I'm not worried." The voice was as smooth and cold as a polished mirror and that made me nervous. His confidence was bone chilling. "Turn it over for me."

I was confused for a second until I heard an engine noise. Knowing we were about to have one hell of a car chase, I went ahead and mentally picked out the beamer I was going to be driving for the night.

The engine cut off after a few minutes. Shaw must have walked away from our guy because his words were harder to make out. I caught Tej's eye to and he shook his head to say the he wasn't getting it either. The only thing I caught was 'switch out a bad part'. A few minutes later, our guy was screaming Shaw's name.

"I just got confirmation on Shaw; they're going in." Tej announced calmly despite our guy's protesting screams.

Immediately after Tej finished talking, the humming or halogen spotlights being turned on sounded and tons of booted feet began moving on the pavement. Han, Riley, and Rome who had been away from the edge with me started to stand up and move toward the edge of the parking garage for a better view.

"Hey y'all, hold up."Tej's computer started beeping wildly. "An alarm on the police scanner just went off at Interpol."

"Shit! He brought us here so he could take down Interpol. This whole thing's a set up." Brian yelled.

"That's brilliant." I accidentally muttered out loud. I got a don't-even-think-about-it look from Han.

"Brian, you take the team." Dom ordered calmly after he glanced at me.

"What about you?" Brian asked.

"I'll wait for Shaw; Shaw leads to Letty." Brian nodded before moving quickly towards the cars. Everyone scattered with him.

I flung myself in the BMW behind Tej's. I was dimly aware of the passenger door opening and closing as I ducked my head under the steering wheel, reaching for the wires. I had my hands on them when I remembered that the keys were sitting innocently in the ignition.

"That's going to take some getting used to." I muttered as I turned the key, immediately throwing the car into gear and taking off after whoever swerved in front of me. I was pretty sure it was Brian.

Han chuckled as he adjusted to be more comfortable in the black leather seats. I accelerated so hard that my spine was pressed back with significant force. The car had a lot of power under the hood and it was really showing it.

We were turning out on the main road when a huge crashing and rumble sounded from behind us. I glanced in my rearview mirror to see dust billowing up. The building collapsing next door was shaking the whole block. I tried not to think of the men and women getting pinned under the falling structure. Hopefully most of them had managed to get out, but as violent as the explosions sounded, I doubted it.

"Take this right." Han directed with a point. Someone in front of me was already making the turn but I had been too freaked out to pay attention. I was now at the back of the pack of cars.

I yanked the wheel around the corner before careening around a taxi that was laying on the horn. I saw a glimpse of empty space about to open up between two cars going opposite directions up ahead of me on my far left. Almost on instinct, I went up a gear and swerved straight for it, not waiting for the space to open. Next to me, Han tensed as he saw where I was aiming, but relaxed when I hit the space between them with just enough room to spare.

Tokyo had two main positives: I found Han and I learned how to dodge traffic at high speeds. It wasn't an easy lesson and a lot of times I got things very wrong, but by the end of my sixth months there I was better than DK and Morimoto when it came to traffic driving. I was a little rusty, but it looked like I hadn't lost it; I was now in the lead.

"Interpol straight ahead. " Han said into the radio as we shot down a straight street before rounding a corner. "Drift around so we can get some cover." He directed me.

I huffed in annoyance. "Not my first rodeo." Grabbing the emergency break, I swung us to a stop facing the building.

Not two seconds later, bullets started ringing through the metal on Han's side. Knowing it was only a matter of time before a shot got him, I pushed my door open and started scrambling out so he could move. I kept getting tangled in my seat belt because I was trying to keep my head down and draw my gun at the same time so my exit ended up being an awkward half crawl, half fall out.

Han's body pressed in on me from the side as he crawled over the center console. I tried to scoot over to give him more room, but his body weight pressed in on me from above, holding me in place. I was confused until I realized he was shielding me.

Not wanting to waste any more time, I pushed my gun backwards into his hand and stood completely up, forcing him to as well. While he got some shots off at the enemy team that was running out of the Interpol office, I pulled his own gun out of his waistband and clip of bullets out of my pocket ready to reload for him if need be.

On the other side of the hail of gunfire, I saw the drivers piling into their cars. Rome, Tej, and Brian wasted no time taking off after them. I was on my way back in the car too when I saw Gisele take this opportunity to line up a shot at the fleeing team. My heart leapt into my throat as I realized that she had nowhere to go. A quick glance up revealed that the sniper on the roof was swinging the gun barrel towards her.

"Gisele, get down!" I yelled at her. She didn't move.

Han shot a quick glance at me before lunging. He grabbed her around the waist right as the shots started. I screamed as he threw them both behind a pole and guarded Gisele with his body. A single shot flew at me before the gunfire stopped all together.

"We're okay. Get out of here!" He yelled to me.

Without wasting another second, I leapt back into the car and sped in the direction I had seen the others go. There was chaos left in their wake, but it was not the absolute destruction I had been expecting to see. Based on the chatter coming over the radio, I didn't think that was going to last.

Rome yelled something about a hockey puck that didn't sound good. My heart started racing as I thought of all the electronic devices that could screw with a car's computer. I fumbled for the radio Han had dropped in my passenger seat.

"If that's in a place where you can scrape it off, do it. Those things can cause some serious damage if they get control of the internal computer." I told them.

My heart raced as I passed by cars that were stopped in the middle of the road with their driver's looking around in confusion. The few pedestrians I saw were staring down the road in shock. I at least knew I was going the right way, but I might not get there in time to back them up.

Turns out I was right; a mile later, I found Tej's car smashed into a pole.

My stomach flipped as I slammed the car into park and jumped out to check on him. The windshield was absolutely smashed as was much of the front end. The good news was it didn't look like it was a fatal accident. That let me breathe a sigh of relief.

"Tej!" I yelled for him as I moved over to the driver's side.

"Here, I'm here!" He yelled as pushed the door open.

I pulled it open the rest of the way and squatted down so I could give him a once over. The air bag was out and he was going to be massively sore and bruised from it, but that seemed to be the worst injury he had.

"Anything worse than bruises?" I asked as I pulled the seat belt off of him and helped him out. Down the street I heard glass shattering and people screaming. I could only hope that Rome got out of it as good as Tej.

"Damn man!" Tej swore as he got to his feet and took in the damage. "That was almost a hell of a lot worse."

"But you're alright?" I asked again as I pulled him towards my car. He looked a little stiff, but he was moving better than I thought he would be.

"Nothing I can't handle." He said as he settled into my passenger seat.

"I've got Tej; he's fine. On my way to Rome." I said into my radio as I slid into my side.

"Be careful. I think he went through a building." Brian answered.

"Damn." Tej and I shared a look. "Baby girl, we just bit off a hell of a lot more than we can chew."

"Since when has that ever stopped us?"


	6. Chapter 6

"Truth makes many appeals, not the least of which is its power to shock."

Jules Renard

Z

London at night was cold. A gentle drizzle fell on the street soaking the hood over my head and making my jacket feel heavy. The light thrown off by the street lamps was haloed and fuzzy thanks to the falling rain. They didn't do much to clear the gloom.

That was exactly what I needed.

I could honestly say I'd never been more terrified in my entire life. It was a deep, bone chilling fear that was settled in my gut and making me nauseated and weak in the knees. None of that mattered though, I had to get this done, and I had to do it myself.

I rocked back and forth on my feet anxiously as I waited for the streetlight to change. The traffic was still flowing steadily despite the late hour and it was driving me crazy. I needed to get this done, and I needed to go before someone noticed I was gone. Finally the light changed and I jogged across stopped traffic.

I dropped to a power walk when I got the other side, but only so the few people on the sidewalk looking at me suspiciously didn't report me for being up to no good. A call to Han to come get me out of jail was not something that needed to happen.

"What do you think you're doing?" A voice directly by my right shoulder startled me so much I spun around and almost slipped on the wet sidewalk.

Riley reached out to steady me before I fell. Her eyes were darting around my face as her lips narrowed into an even more serious set. I opened my mouth to explain, but I floundered. I was shaking, I was breathing hard, my heart was pounding, and I was pretty sure I was sweating like a whore in church: there was no way in hell I didn't look I'd just done something really stupid.

"What are you doing?" She asked again. Her tone had something a lot more accusatory.

"It's none of your business." I snapped haughtily. She shook her head.

"You're sneaking out of the headquarters of an international investigation in the middle of the night looking guilty. As law enforcement on that investigation, it's definitely my business." She cut directly to the point.

"I had to run to a pharmacy." I blurted as I shuffled away from her, eager to get back on my way.

I was having a pregnancy scare. It was a completely ridiculous one considering medically I was supposed to have a horrific time trying to get pregnant and I was on birth control, but still, I was scared.

Losing Hanna had put a lot of emotional stress on me; I was having trouble eating, I was losing weight, and it had completely screwed up my body. I hadn't thought that much about it until Han made an innocent comment about my boobs looking bigger. It was after that that I realized those were the same symptoms I had about a year ago right before I very unexpectedly lost a baby I didn't know I was pregnant with.

I was rushed to surgery and I spent the next week in the hospital battling an infection. My body had been damaged in a way that would make conceiving extremely difficult, if not impossible. I was almost one hundred percent sure that I wasn't pregnant, but I didn't want to be wrong. A tiny chance was still a chance and I wasn't going to stop hyperventilating until I saw that minus sign on a test.

"You had to run to a pharmacy by yourself at three in the morning in the pouring rain on foot?" Her tone made me realize exactly how stupid I sounded.

"I had to get girly things and I don't exactly need an escort for that." I finally muttered as my face flushed hot red. She sighed.

"Let's go so we can go home." She conceded as she started leading the way. A single noise left my mouth as I started to protest before a glare cut me off.

Not knowing what else to do, I followed her.

We were both soaked to skin by the time we went down another block and ducked into a twenty-four hour pharmacy. She politely started looking at an aisle display of lip balm while I ducked to the back and found what I was looking for. I couldn't figure out the difference between brands, so I just randomly selected one and hurried to the check out.

The lazy cashier took forever to look up from the magazine she was reading when I got to her register. She judgingly glanced between me and Riley before looking at my left hand. I wiggled my fingers so my wedding ring showed. Thankfully she hurried up and rung me up.

The second she had it in a bag, I grabbed it and ran for the door.

Riley didn't say anything at all on the trip back, and for that I was grateful. It wasn't until we were in the elevator that she even acknowledged that I was next to her.

"I think you need to seriously think about whether or not you need to stay." She said slowly.

I glanced over at her right as the elevator doors opened on our main floor. Apparently she was working late on the Interpol footage. I caught a glance of Hobbs sound asleep sitting straight up in a chair in front of a stack of files. She must have been working late when she saw me leave on the security cameras.

"It won't be necessary." I assured her as she stepped out. Without waiting for a reply, I pushed the close door button and held it until the door slammed shut.

I let out a sigh as I slid down the wall and put my head in my hands. I knew it was going to be negative, but what if it wasn't? I was so scared I felt like I was going to throw up. The timing for this couldn't have been worse.

The elevator door finally came open again and I sneaked out down the dark hall lined with sleeping people. I crept around a corner to where I had noticed a bathroom on the hall. That way I could put this fear to rest without stressing over waking him up.

The minutes ticked by as I waited for the test to be ready. The longer I waited sitting in the floor, the dumber I felt over stressing out. I finally stopped worrying about what I was going to do with a baby and started wondering if I should tell Han.

A calm had overtaken me by the time the test was ready. By then I was ready to go crawl back in bed with Han and sleep like rock without the weight of this concern hanging over me. I grabbed the test off the floor beside me, flipping it over and casually glancing at what I knew it was going to say. And yet, I found the opposite.

I couldn't breathe. The shock ripped the air from my lungs and left me hyperventilating. My knees went completely out from under me and I dropped to the floor in front of the toilet. That ended up being a good thing, because before I knew it I was throwing up.

I wasn't thinking when I did it, but I dialed Han's phone. When I realized it was ringing, I started swearing under my breath. I couldn't hang up. It was way too late for that. It would have woken him up and he would have seen my empty side of the bed. I had to stay on the line.

"Ellie. Where the hell are you?" He sounded sleepy and really confused.

"I'm throwing up." I blurted.

"Do you need a Coke or something carbonated?" He asked quickly. I started hearing him move around.

"I'm in a different bathroom." I said quickly and little bit frantically. "I didn't want to wake you."

He sighed, obviously finding that ridiculous. "Where is it?"

"Down the hall to the left." I told him. I kept hearing movement and I guessed he was getting dressed.

"I'll be there in a minute." He hung up.

Well that went great. What was I going to do when he got here?

Maybe going to get the pregnancy test wasn't the scariest moment of my life; this was.

There was a light knock on the door before it swung in. Han took one look at me curled up beside the toilet before he knelt down and brushed my bangs out of my face. He adjusted so he was sitting and placed my head on his lap.

"You look awful. Is it just food poisoning?" He asked. I swallowed heavily and cringed at the metallic taste in my mouth.

He didn't look so good himself. His shirt was inside out and backwards and his pants were unzipped from where he'd thrown them on. His hair was messy and he looked like he was having a lot of trouble keeping his eyes open. I felt a pang of guilt for waking him up and making him worry.

"I've been nauseous a lot." I whispered.

"From stress?" I chewed on my lip.

"I thought so." The hand he was running over my hair stopped dead. His eyes flew open in surprise as he immediately caught my meaning.

"We can go right now and—" I cut him off by pulling the test out from under my back where I had landed on it when I laid down to make the nausea stop.

"I'm freaking out." I chuckled humorlessly. Why I did I wasn't really sure. Maybe it was to keep from crying.

"What does it say?" He asked even though he was staring at the obvious results.

"We're pregnant." I murmured. I felt his stomach hollow out as he inhaled in surprised.

We stayed together in awkward silence for several minutes. I knew we were both shocked and panicking, but we had to figure out something.

"Han, please say something." I begged. I felt a little bit of wetness on my cheeks.

"I'm going to be a father." He finally muttered as his hand slid on my stomach.

"What are we going to do?" I asked.

"What we always do." Was his simple reply.

"Escape into the sunset in a blaze of glory after leaving the town in flames and shattering the hold of the oppressive?" I replied as I really started crying.

"I was going for 'survive' or 'adapt'." He deadpanned.

"God, you're boring." I joked through the tears.

"Well, I think we've settled on who's in charge of bedtime stories." I sat up and nuzzled my face into his neck.

"You're going to be an amazing father." He kissed my head and wrapped an arm around me.

With Han next to me, the peace came back. I knew he was panicking beneath the still surface. Heck, I could feel his pulse racing right now; I was pretty sure it matched mine. I wasn't exactly looking forward to being a mother. I had a horrible relationship with my own and I didn't really know how to handle a kid. I knew I was going to make so many mistakes. But despite the panic, we'd been through worse things in our time together, and this could end up being one of the happiest moments in our life, even if it wasn't planned.

Whatever we'd been faced with, we'd made it work. This time wasn't going to be any different.


End file.
